BAPTISM IN WATER - Solid Rock

One of the foundational truths in the elementary teaching about Christ in Hebrews 6 is "instruction about baptisms". The first of these baptisms is baptism in water.

Let us learn together about this next step for all new Christians by asking seven searching questions.

WHERE DID IT COME FROM?

The Jews did not baptize one another. Instead, they circumcised babies as a sign of the covenant God made with Abraham. Genesis 17:9-13.

The Jews did baptize any who wished to belong to Israel and benefit from the blessings of God's covenants with his chosen people.
The Gentile converts were called proselytes. They were required to be circumcised as well as baptized.

John the Baptist commanded both Jews and Gentiles to be baptized in water. John baptized in water because God commanded him to do this.

He announced the long-awaited news that the rule of God was about to come to the nation. So he called both men and women, both leaders and people, both Jews and Gentiles to prepare themselves for this rule, or government of God.

"John the Baptist came preaching in the Desert of Judea and saying, 'Repent, for the Kingdom of heaven is near'... people went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River." - Matthew 3:1-6

Jesus joined the crowds who went out into the desert to submit to John's baptism.

Jesus did not need to be baptized because he had no sins to confess and be forgiven. Nevertheless, he took his place in the queue like everyone else who wished to be prepared for the coming Kingdom of God. His baptism was an act of identification with Israel, God's chosen people, because he was their Messiah.

"Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. But John tried to deter him, saying, 'I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?' Jesus replied, 'Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.' Then John consented." Matthew 3:13-15

'Instruction about baptisms' is a core command of Jesus to his disciples after his resurrection. Baptism in water was part of the missionary mandate Jesus gave as he left them to continue his work.

Matthew says that after his resurrection the commands he gave to his disciples included baptism in water: "Then Jesus came to them and said, 'All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age" - Matthew 28:16-20
HOW IS IT DONE?

A good soaking

The Bible makes it clear that the baptisms of John and the Apostles were by total immersion in water.

"Now John was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because there was plenty of water." John 3:23.

"As soon as Jesus was baptized he came up out of the water." Matthew 3:16.
"Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him. ...They came up out of the water..." Acts 8:38,39

The word 'baptize' implies total immersion. It comes from the ordinary Greek word 'baptizo' which means immerse, submerge or plunge. It was used to describe dipping material in dye, sinking a ship, and the dipping a cup in a bowl of wine. It was used where in English we would say dunk, duck, douse, deluge, saturate or soak.

John was called 'the Baptist' because this was an apt nickname, meaning the Plunger, or the Dipper.

Water - and words

New Testament baptism needed lots of water. It also needed words. In the Apostles' baptism, the brand new Christian was expected to "call on" the name of Jesus. Ananias said to Paul "What are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on his name." Acts 22:16

So today anyone submitting to Christian baptism will be required to confess out loud their personal faith in Jesus as Savior and Lord. Some word of testimony is often given to underline their confession of faith.
WHO MAY BE BAPTIZED?

All, who repent, believe and obey

When, on the day of Pentecost, onlookers heard Peter speak about Jesus as risen Lord and Messiah, they wanted to do something in response. "When they heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other Apostles, 'brothers what shall we do?' Peter replied, 'Repent, and be baptized everyone of you, in the name of Jesus Christ'...." Acts 2:37,38. The story continued, "Those who accepted his message were baptized." Acts 2:41

From this we notice that baptism is for the following people.

It is for those who have repented of their sins before God. "Repent and be baptized everyone of you." Acts 2:38
It is for those who have faith in Jesus. "Be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ." Acts 2:36
It is for those who wish to be obedient to the Bible's command "Those who accepted his message were baptized..." Acts 2:41

We see repentance, faith and obedience illustrated by the twelve disciples of John the Baptist whom Paul met in Ephesus. "'What baptism did you receive?' Paul asked. 'John's baptism,' they replied. Paul said 'John's baptism was a baptism of repentance. He told the people to believe in the one coming after him, that is, in Jesus.' On hearing this they were baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus." Acts 19:4,5

When Ananias came to see Paul (following Paul's meeting with Jesus on the road to Damascus) he encouraged him to be baptized. He said "And now what are you waiting for? Get up and be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on his name." Acts 22:16

This shows that baptism is done by others, but it is decided by oneself. Baptism is a conscious and conscientious action both the will and the conscience of the individual are involved.

It is clear then that the New Testament insists that water baptism is for believers only and for all believers. Believers' baptism is the norm; see Acts 8:12,13; 16:30-33.

A doorway into a local Church

It is for those willing to belong to a local Church. It should never be an isolated act separated from the life of the Church of God. It is the doorway into that Church.

This is illustrated when someone is baptized in a Jewish or Muslim community. When they are baptized, insults begin to fly, and often the new believers are thrown out of house and home, disinherited, and a funeral held for them.

Baptism is corporate; so it should not be undergone without the intention of belonging to a local Church. This was the intention of new believers at Pentecost. Those who responded to Peter's sermon were baptized and added to the Church.
WHAT ABOUT BABIES?

New Testament baptism is not for babies. Some have suggested that because whole families or households were baptized, this would include babies. The truth is that members of families who were baptized were "those who heard and accepted the message", "believed", "called on his name" and were "filled with joy". To be filled with joy because you believe in Jesus suggests a mental development. Babies need to grow up before they can appreciate this. So we do not 'christen' babies; we dedicate them and pray for them and their parents. The only babies who are baptized are spiritual babies - those who have recently been born again.
WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

The New Testament uses 3 pictures to describe what happens in baptism: it is a washing, a burial, and a crossing over (a defection or escape).

A washing - a bath for those who are dirty

In baptism believers are washed clean on the inside. Ananias instructs Paul about this meaning of baptism: "Be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on his name" - Acts 22:16. Peter emphasizes this same meaning: "Baptism now saves you - not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a good conscience towards God." - 1 Peter 3:21

A burial - a burial for those who are dead

In baptism by faith you identify with all that Jesus did for you in his own death and resurrection. "All of us who were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death. We were buried with him through baptism into death in order that just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life", Romans 6:3-4. "We have been buried with him in baptism and raised with him through faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead." Colossians 2:12

A defection or escape - for those who have made a clean start

In baptism, believers break with the past and make a clean start: they cross over from the kingdom of Satan to be re-established in the Kingdom of Christ. This is the one and only way to be dead to the world!

Eugene Peterson writes in 'The Message' (the new testament in contemporary language) "We've left the old country where sin is sovereign. We packed up and left there for good. That is what happened in baptism. When we went under the water, we left the old country of sin behind; when we came up out of the water, we entered into a new country of grace - a new life in a new land!" - Romans 6:1-4

We see that salvation is not just from personal sin.

Salvation is from the sin of a whole society. Peter called individuals to repent of their personal sin. He also urged his listeners to "Save yourselves from this corrupt generation," Acts 2:40,41, by baptism.

Paul reminded his readers that as believers they were to be "...blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation." Philippians 2:15

By baptism we escape from a crooked culture, that is, the world, into a Christian society, that is, the people of God.

By faith through baptism believers separate themselves from the world, dominated by Satan, and enter God's alternative society - the Church, his people living in his Kingdom under the Lord Jesus Christ.

"Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved" Mark 16:16. The salvation referred to is salvation from the crooked and perverse society, which has formed our thinking and behavior.

Only Christ can transform us as individuals and members of society. "God our Savior...saves us... through the washing of re-birth and renewal by the Holy Spirit." - Titus 3:4,5

Through baptism new believers can be cut off from their old ways and habits, from the traditions of men, from superstitions and from the influence of humanism and other religions.

You can trust the Lord to deliver you from your besetting sins and see bad habits broken in your life.

"For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the Kingdom of the Son he loves." Colossians 1:13

"Having been buried with him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead." - Colossians 2:12
MORE THAN A SYMBOL - A MEANS OF GRACE

It is not just like a burial: it is a burial. It is not like an escape: it is an escape. The sign or symbol accomplishes what it stands for or signifies. The symbols of a bath, a burial and an escape describe what happens at the time of the baptism itself.

We should emphasize God's activity in baptism rather than a human act of obedience or testimony. It is a 'means of grace'.

Noah and the flood

Peter pictured a type of Christian baptism in Noah's flood. He says that the water of the flood "...symbolizes baptism that now saves you - not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a good conscience towards God." 1 Peter 3:21
Baptism is a sacrament of cleansing.

Moses and the Red Sea

Paul pictured the crossing of the Red Sea as a type of Christian baptism. "Our forefathers were all under the cloud and all passed through the sea. They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea." - 1 Corinthians 10:1,2

Baptism is a sacrament of breaking with the past and making a fresh start with Christ and with members of the new people of God.
WHEN WILL YOU BE BAPTIZED?

The decision is yours! Water baptism for new converts is not an option, which you will agree to when you feel like it, but a necessity and a command of God.

If you have not been baptized what are you waiting for? All you need is a conviction that this is the next step for you. You also need faith in the power of God to give you new life. "Look, here is water! Why shouldn't I be baptized? If you believe with all your heart, you may." Acts 8:36,37
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

John the Baptist knew by revelation that another kind of baptism was required, different from water baptism. He recognized the need for power as well as purity.

We need one baptism into Christ and another baptism from Christ: 'Instruction about baptisms'. In the one we receive the gift of God's Son in his death, burial and resurrection; in the other we receive the gift of God's Spirit in his power and purity.

When believers present themselves to be baptized they are asked the following questions, or similar ones, according to the practice of the local Church.

Question: Do you confess Jesus Christ as your personal Savior and Lord?.
Answer: I do.

In the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit I baptize you into Jesus: into his life, his death, his resurrection and ascension.

I am accepted in Christ
I am God's child: John 1:12
I am Christ's friend: John 15:15
I have been bought with a price; I belong to God: 1 Cor. 6:20
I am a member of Christ's body: 1 Cor 12:27
I have been adopted as God's child: Ephesisans 1:5
I have been redeemed and forgiven all my sins: Colossians 1:14
I am secure in Christ
I am assured that all things work together for good: Romans 8:28
I cannot be separated from the love of God: Romans 8:35
I am hidden with Christ in God: Colossians 3:3
I am confident that the good work God has begun in me will be perfected: Philippians 1:6
I have not been given a spirit of fear, but of power, love and a sound mind: 2 Tim 1:7
I can find grace and mercy in time of need: Hebrews 4:16
I am born of God and the evil one cannot touch me: 1 John 5:18
I am significant in Christ
I am the salt and light of the earth: Matthew 5:13,14
I have been chosen and appointed to bear fruit: John 15:16
I am God's co-worker: 2 Cor 6:1
I am seated with Christ in the heavenly realm: Ephesians 2:6
I am God's workmanship: Ephesians 2:10
I may approach God with freedom and confidence: Ephesians 3:12
I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me: Philippians 4:13

If you are hoping to be baptized soon write out a four-minute testimony telling how you became a Christian; the difference this has made to you; and why you wish to be baptized.
Show this testimony to an Elder, who will help you to improve it if this is necessary.

N.B. When you give your testimony do use notes. It will give you confidence and help you to express yourself clearly.